The G.William Arends Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and professor of microbiology was selected for his “pioneering discoveries on the genetics and enzymology of methanogenesis by archaea and the mechanisms for aerobic methane formation in marine surface waters.”

Six researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), including William Metcalf, G. William Arends Professor in Molecular and Cellular Biology in the department of microbiology and leader of the IGB Mining Microbial Genomes research theme.

Metcalf earned his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1991. He was selected as a Fellow for his “pioneering discoveries on the genetics and enzymology of methanogenesis by archaea and the mechanisms for aerobic methane formation in marine surface waters.”

AAAS is the world’s largest scientific society. The organization was founded in 1848 and Fellows have been elected annually since 1874. 347 new Fellows were honored this year for their “scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.” Fellows are AAAS members selected by their peers for outstanding contributions to the field.

The additional newly appointed AAAS Fellows from Illinois include: U. of I. President Timothy Killeen; William Mischo, the Berthold Family Professor of Information Access and Discovery and the head of the Grainger Engineering Library Information Center; Ralph Nuzzo, the G.L. Clark Professor of Chemistry and a professor of materials science and engineering; statistics professor emeritus Stephen Portnoy; and Hong Yang, the Richard C. Alkire Professor in Chemical Engineering in the department of chemical and biomolecular engineering.

Author: Sarah, Banducci, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
Photo: L. Brian Stauffer